jebda جبدة
Algerian Darja · noun
“jebda” (جبدة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning pull, a single tug.
Meanings
- pull, a single tug
- long stretch, long haul
Usage
Jebda is the noun of action of the verb jbed ("to pull"), a very common verb in Algeria. Literally, it refers to a single pull: pulling a rope, a drawer, a door. Figuratively, it means a matter that drags on or an interminable wait, as in hadi jebda ("this is going to take a long time"). By extension, it also describes a large-scale undertaking, on the model of jebda kbira. The register is colloquial. The word is often constructed with wahed for counting: wahed el jebda. Be careful not to confuse it with jebha ("forehead"), whose pronunciation is close.
Example
حتى للعام الجاي؟ هادي جبدة!
hetta l3am ejjay? hadi jebda!
“Until next year? That's a long time!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jebda” but also “djebda”, “jabda” and “jbda”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “jebda” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “pull, tug”; “blow-dry (at the hairdresser)”: jebda in Tunisian.